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Topic: Audition (Read 1940 times)

Overview: A middle-aged widower is urged by his teenage son and a film producer friend to start dating again. They devise a plan to hold a phony film audition to meet new women. The widower falls for a beautiful ballerina with a suspicious past, and their courtship veers from polite romance to psycho-nightmare!

Audition was a blind buy for me. I found it in the WalMart value bin for $5 and thought it sounded perfect for the horror marathon.

I like the horror films that are made in Asia and this one is no exception. Asama Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), the psychotic ballerina, is simply fantastic. She appears to be so sweet and innocent yet the truth is so much different. These qualities are what makes the things she does seem so much more horrific.

Another thing that was great was the buildup of suspense. Unlike most horror films Mike Takashi, the director, takes his time in developing the story and the graphic violence that happens. I thought this technique was most effective and made this film special.

I'm finding it difficult to talk about this movie without giving away too much information for those who haven't seen it. There are disturbing scenes and images throughout the movie. I like it when a film leaves me with something to think about, Audition does that for me.

Najemikon

Well it's difficult to put my finger on it, but Audition has more substance than most, and it's dark and disturbing. As Kathy says, it leaves you thinking.

From what little I've gathered about your tastes, I suspect you don't like films that rely too much on a gimmick. There's nothing wrong with gimmicks in the way I'm thinking! And I'm not presuming that this is a black and white rule. For instance a typical ghost story needs a ghost and preferably a few jumps. Blockbusters have stunts and set-pieces. Or maybe it's a drama building toward a big twist or reveal. Most Asian films that have become popular internationally are like this. They have some sort of obvious hook and leave little to interpretation by the end, obeying genre rules and conventions to the letter.

Audition is one of those films that has a simple plot, with lean characters and dialogue, but a very deep idea and so all it needs to do is play out, with some great, almost abstract imagery. Kathy called it a horror, which it is, but it doesn't rely on genre of any kind. There's a powerful, singular message at it's heart, but no effort is made to ram it down your throat.

I know what I mean! You probably don't after that nonsense. It's like the difference between Platoon and Apocalypse Now.

I actually had to think about it for a minute, where the comparison of Hard Candy and Audition came from...

I liked Audition, but Hard Candy is by quite a bit the faster moving film. I agree with Jon though, Audition builds very, very slow, developing the characters ever so slightly. Saying more would mean to spoil the film...